Photo: stuartcomer on Instagram
Though the staff at the Museum of Modern Art are an integral part of the museum’s exhibitions, it’s not every day that you see them perform in them. That is about to change, however, thanks to the Artist’s Choice series taking place at the museum. The return of the longstanding series is a part of FIAF’s Crossing the Line Festival, an annual event that takes place in New York City featuring artists from around the world. This year, MoMA will premiere a new work by Jérôme Bel, the first choreographer to be tapped for the prestigious honour. Bel is a French choreographer and dancer known for a style known as “non-dance,” which is heavily influenced by performance art. His works have previously been shown at the Tate Modern in London and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
For his turn in the Artist’s Choice seat, Bel will put a unique spin on the 27-year-old tradition. Rather than focus on the artworks in the museum’s collection as past artists have chosen to do, Bel’s performances will revolve around the MoMA staff and all of the hard work that they do. Entitled “MOMA Dance Company,” the performance brings together approximately 20 MoMA employees from various departments, each of whom will choreograph a brief solo dance of their choice and perform in an ensemble performance. The majority of the performers have little to no dance background and were selected through an open call of the museum staff. The project will explore the social potential of dance to create communities by temporarily suspending typical workplace hierarchies through dance.
You can catch the performances at 12:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. daily from October 27th to 31st at MoMA.
